Education Explosion!

So, I know I've been lacking with the blog lately, and I apologize, but it's because Comics Experience is doing more than it ever has before. We just wrapped up another sold-out Intro to Comics Writing class and we're doing the Intro to Comic Book Art class and starting up Lettering and Production this Wednesday (you can still sign up!).

I thought this wouldn't be too tough to do all of this all at one time. Boy, was I wrong. And the creators workshop is in full swing as is the book club. We recently had Christos N. Gage and Chris Samnee come to the book club and talk about AREA 10, their excellent Vertigo book. And Peter David just reviewed a script for the Creators Workshop.

Pulling this all together is work, as it turns out. It's fun for me, but the idea is to make sure that anyone who joins the creators workshop, never has a reason to leave it. And that the group as a whole function to support one another.

It's been an eye-opening experience for me, so far, and an extremely rewarding one, seeing the scripts come in, seeing people tackle the artist and writers challenges and networking with one another.

Unfortunately, that means I haven't had time to blog as much lately. I'm trying to change that this week. Trying to hit three blogs this week (let's see if I can make that happen...).

But my point is, I've been really impressed and inspired by the talented people in both the classes and the workshop. And one day, if you want to make comics, I hope you'll join us.

Andy

Classes Under Way!

Intro to Comics Art and Intro to Comics Coloring started this week and they are both well-attended and off to great starts.

This is a very exciting time to be a part of Comics Experience. We've got more classes and more students (or clients, if you prefer) than ever before. I've been enjoying being a part of the classes and look forward to them immensely.

And now, with the Comics Creators Workshop now, there's a way to keep the learning going and the helpful critiques continuing indefinitely.

And some new initiatives are in the works that could be mind blowing. I think we've got a wave of great stuff happening right now with the enthusiastic and knowledgeable instructors and the new programs.

I've been reading a lot of scripts and looking at a lot of art and it's just been great. The growth and style these guys have is tremendous and only one week in I can already see the classes starting to gel. It's great.

If you've ever considered a course, obviously, I'm going to recommend them. But to my credit, I've not yet had a dissatisfied student. This is a lot of fun and very informative.

And worth just saying thank you to everyone who has supported Comics Experience so far. Thanks for everything.

Andy

REVIEWS ARE IN AND THEY'RE GOOD!

Holy awesome! Many a review went up about 5 DAYS TO DIE #1 last week and they're all really great! Check them out! And if you haven't yet (if you read this blog regularly, you should already have read it!), then check out issues 1 and 2 a your store this week!

Check out these awesome reviews to convince you...

Broken Frontier
Newsarama (scroll down a bit)
iFanboy
Indie Pulp
Kitty's Pryde
Ascension Comics
Exploring the Multiverse

And I have to say, I'm extraordinarily flattered by all of this.

Andy

Intro to Art and Intro to Coloring start next week!

Wow. Today was amazing. My creator-owned book came out today. And I'm amazed with the reviews and feedback so far. People seem to really like it, which is awesome. But more on that later. Tonight, I want to talk about my real passion and that's teaching these courses and helping new comics creators express themselves! Let's talk about the classes we're offering right now.

INTRODUCTION TO COMIC BOOK ART is taught by myself and Robert Atkins. Robert's been teaching and drawing comics for years and he's not only a top-notch storyteller, respected professional, and popular artist, he's also one of the most generous people I know. I can't wait to start this class with him on MONDAY! Don't miss out, folks. This is a real opportunity for you to learn how to do comics for real and in just six short weeks. Totally worth it. Sign up for it now.

Also starting next week, is Chris Sotomayor's INTRODUCTION TO COMIC BOOK COLORING class which has just gotten a huge response from the people who have taken it. I was amazed that people with little to zero Photoshop skill could jump in and have good, quality, professional colored pages by the end. I mean, really, really, amazed. When he and I designed the class a year ago, I just didn't think that was likely. I didn't think it would happen. But man, he proved me wrong.

Much like Robert, Soto as he's known, is also extremely generous (with a mildly more potty-mouth, I'll admit) but a totally awesome guy and also respected within the industry. He's helped many a working colorist get their start already, and he loves to see artists succeed and do what they love. This class starts next Thursday and is totally worth it as well.

Coming soon, we've got the LETTERING AND PRODUCTION class which, as a writer, is a pays-for-itself course. Letter your own books and do the production work on them, and you will save yourself tons of cash! True for artists, obviously as well.

This one is taught by Dave Sharpe, who has lettered for every publisher under the sun. Also a great guy, hard working, honest, and genuinely happy to help and work in comics. LETTERING AND PRODUCTION starts at the end of September. And you can sign up now for it as well.

The next INTRODUCTION TO WRITING course starts the first week of November.






INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL AND TRADITIONAL INKING also starts the first week of November. It's taught by myself and Jonathan Glapion. Jonathan, like the others on this list is honest, hard working, and is set up and ready to go. In the last few years, Jonathan has really been leading the charge legitimizing digital inking as a valid artistic expression. His digital inks are just as good as anyone's traditional inks--including his own!

This is a real bonus for artists who want to ink themselves and get that extra cash in pocket or for anyone who wants to learn to communicate with inkers in a real and engaging way. I can't stress enough how cool this class is going to be. I'm really looking forward to it myself!

So if you're looking for a place to learn the craft of making comics, Comics Experience is it. These guys are all bound by the same rules I started on myself--it has to be a class I would want to take, it has to be filled with information and technique, it has to teach a methodology to getting the work done while still allowing the students to express themselves artistically. And most of all, it has to be an honest and encouraging environment.

So jump on in to a Comics Experience course and get your comics career started today!

Andy

5 DAYS TO DIE - Out This Week!

Here we are, the week of 5 DAYS TO DIE #1. The book is weekly, so don't miss this one, folks! I've poured my heart and soul into it, so I sure hope it doesn't suck!

The first review I've seen for it is here. And it got a 5 out of 5! So that's pretty sweet.

I don't really know what to say, but I thought this might be an interesting time to talk about what this feels like. I've been working in comics as an editor since early 2002, and as a writer since 2007. 5 DAYS TO DIE is my first creator-owned comic.

And unlike anything I've worked on before, this is terrifying. For one thing, it just feels like it's you, not a piece of work, but YOU that people are reading. So when it gets read, they are reading YOU. There's no big company to hide behind. This is what I did. This is what Chee, the amazing artist and co-creator did with ME. So if people don't like it, it's going to feel like they don't like ME--me as a member of the human race or something.

Also, I've conned a publisher (IDW Publishing) into thinking this will do well for them. And I work for them. I've pitched two other comics to them before and they love me so much, they said no to both (which, to be honest, is something I really respect and am glad they wouldn't greenlight something just because I work there). But if 5 DAYS TO DIE didn't perform or is poorly received, I don't have Hasbro to hind behind. Again, this is me, so if it goes poorly, I have to answer to them--personally. I can just feel Darth Vader's force crushing my windpipe now (not that anyone at IDW is like Darth Vader, but occasionally there is mysterious heavy breathing in the office, which totally creeps me out).

But I think ultimately, I'm terrified because it's not just that it feels like it's me on the line, to some extent it is. I wrote earlier about my relationship with my son Cale and how this comic is in some way a part of that. A part of my guilt over some of those feelings during his first year with us. And I've even put some of that in issue #1 itself. And the absolute most terrifying thought to me is that 5 DAYS TO DIE means something personal to me. It's about my son and me and how we are together. And if it comes off hammy, or over-the-top, or insincere, or overly sentimental and causing groans from the readership, then it is my expression of something very personal that people are laughing at.

I think it's probably like that dream I've always heard about (but never had) where someone is being laughed at by all their classmates only to realize in the dream that the person is standing there naked. I think this is what that would feel like, only I fear that it would just be a mighty cold day, to boot.

So, that all being said, there it is. There I am, all on the line in 22 pages in your comic shop this Wednesday. And on Wednesday night, I'll announce something pretty cool here on this blog that has to do with 5 DAYS TO DIE and a special offer.

Hope you all pick up the book on Wednesday and let me know what you think. As horrified as I am at hearing or reading your thoughts, I can't resist wanting to know anyway!

Andy

Technology and comics

I am writing this from my new iPad. FOrgive the typos as ia get used to this device. Wow, that looks terrible, and yet it is a perfect metaphor for what Im thinking about right now. Technology doesn't by its own nature improve or degrade comics. There are some eventualities. Or maybe even pitfalls if we want to call them that.

The truth is, technology usually does one or more of four things: it makes a current device smaller, taking up less physical space. This iPad does that quite nicely. Heck, this keyboard is smaller and even though it's driving me nuts, it's an improvement to lugging my laptop around--I think.

Secondly, new technologies will make accomplishing a goal faster or easier. That one is pretty self explanatory. If you know anything about how comics are produced, you know that something link Photoshop made coloring comics a ton faster. And a lot easier.

Third, new technology should improve accuracy. Again, Photoshop makes for a good example when applied to coloring

The last thing new tech tends to do is make something cheeper. Some form of production of the comic becomes less expensive--in some cases, simply making a process faster, makes it cheeper. We've seen this with lettering when it went digital. There are fewer letterers in the business now abut they're probably earning about what they would had digital lettering not developed. And those who didn't want to convert to digital find themselves almost completely out of work.

I'm not passing a moral judgement here. I'm just gating the facts as I see them. .

And now here I am in 2010 and buying an iPad becAuse I'm worried of getting left behind. Comics Experience depends on the best technology to keep course personal. And this month vie been working with both rob Anderson and John barber to make the technology even better

Were launching our writers workshop on August 1st and the artists workshop on September 1st. And to do that, we've create members only forums. Added a lot of stuff to do them to make the groups interactive, personal, easy to use and a lot of fun--never lose sight of the fun of comics!

And I don't love learning how to use the latest technology and I'm personally still pretty far behind the curve, but I'm determined to get there. Or else I'll be left behind as a comics professional and a teacher. So, for the betterment of my editorial duties, my business, and the comics industry, I'm embracing the changes coming to comics.

And I think in the case of Comics Experience, it's making for a better, more personal, more complete experience.

I'll probably post up about digital comics soon, but maybe after I learn how to type on this darn thing!

Check out the website for details on the ongoing writers and artists workshops. They're truly amazing.

Andy

Post Con Advice

So I'm exhausted from the Con. So is everyone else, but try to find the time to do these things:

1. Drop an email to the contacts you made. Remind them who you are and what you talked about. Put your contact information in the email.

2. Ask if you can talk with them further and if this is the best way to contact them.

3. You might also ask if there is someone else they recommend that you speak with.

4. Research the people that you met--what they work on, what their specific roll is, etc.

5. Relax. Give them time to respond. If you haven't heard back in 10 days, give another touch out.

6. Make a list of things that you did that worked at the show.

7. Make a list of things that didn't work for you at the show.

8. Make a list of what you can do next time to make more of the show while you're there.

9. Organize all of your new contacts in a place and way that you can get them easily. If using contacts on a computer, put notes in the contacts so you know who they are, when you met, and why you're entering them into your contact list--you will forget all of these things :)

10. If you're a writer who linked up with a writer or an artist, take it easy. It's exciting that you may work with someone, but it's a lot like dating. Take your time and make sure that this is the right person for your project. They'll be doing the same.

Those are my quick post-con thoughts. They're probably not much as my brain is completely fried.

Hope it helps a bit though.

Andy